In March, Keystone Oaks Superintendent Dr. Stropkaj and High School Principal Dr. Linnert traveled to Seattle, Washington, for the League of Innovative Schools Spring 2026 Convening, where Dr. Stropkaj was formally accepted as a new member of the League. 

In October, we announced that the Keystone Oaks School District was accepted into the League of Innovative Schools based on its educational leadership, demonstrated commitment to excellence, innovative vision for learning, key achievements, and collaborative spirit.

The League is a national network of school districts that connects and supports the nation’s most forward-thinking leaders in education. While at the Spring Convening, Dr. Stropkaj and Dr. Linnert visited the Kent and Issaquah School Districts, where they interacted with learners, educators, and leaders and learned about the districts’ innovative programs and practices. They also participated in informational sessions and built relationships with school leaders from across the country. 

Three Keystone Oaks High School students will be competing in the Educators Rising National Conference after earning top honors at the recent state conference.

Seniors Vee Betta and Kellen Veri earned 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, in the Creative Lecture competition, where they delivered a 4- to 10-minute TED Talk-style lecture (without using notes!) on the topic, “Reimagining Schools: A Student’s Vision for the Future of Learning.” 

Senior Isra Mejri earned 4th place in the EdRising Moment competition, which challenged students to deliver a 3- to 4-minute speech about why they aim to pursue a career in education. 

Vee, Kellen, and Isra were among 10 Keystone Oaks High School students to participate in this year’s Educators Rising State Conference. Educators Rising is a program that provides curriculum, training, and support for high school students who are interested in pursuing careers in education. The program is implemented through Mrs. Emily Brill’s Principles of Teaching course and is in its second year at Keystone Oaks High School. 

A team of seven Keystone Oaks Middle School students recently brought home two awards in this year’s “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” video contest. 

Their video, which showcased the role that manufacturing plays at Mancini’s Bakery, received first place for “Best Rookie Team” and second place for the “Student Choice Award.” Take a few minutes to check out their video online!

Sponsored locally by Catalyst Connection, the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” video contest aims to excite students to explore manufacturing careers by producing profiles of companies in their communities. Each team of students and teacher coaches receives camera equipment, software, and professional guidance as they learn to script, record, and edit their video stories.

Congratulations to 7th graders Michael Merriman, Luca Rea, and Harper Wawrzeniak; 8th graders Iris Brownlee, Beth Mathewson, Stella Morgan, and Drake Robbins; and teachers Mr. Bell and Mr. Gavlak, on your success! 

For the third consecutive school year, a team of Keystone Oaks Middle School students have been selected as winners in Pittsburgh City Theatre’s annual Young Playwrights Contest! The play, “Bolts and Apologies,” written by Oliver Rent, Hayden Carr, and AJ Montenaro during the 2024–2025 school year, was professionally produced as part of this year’s Young Playwrights Festival.

“Bolts and Apologies” tells the story of Trigger 3.0, a grumpy AI from Cy-York City who thinks humans are obsolete—until a mysterious portal sends him spiraling 100 years into the past. Lost in 2025 New York, Trigger stumbles through fast food joints, war memorials, and shocking truths about the people he once mocked. With the help of a surfer dude, a factory tour, and a few humbling revelations, Trigger begins to question everything he thought he knew about humanity—and himself.

Oliver, Hayden, and AJ collaborated on the play last school year as students in Ms. Kelly Connolly’s 7th-grade ELA class. They also worked with a City Theatre teaching artist to write the one-act play. In addition to writing the play, the students had the opportunity to work with City Theatre to watch their script come to life on stage.

Their submission was selected from more than 400 plays written by students throughout western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. 

Math Madness at Aiken. Aiken Elementary School’s inaugural Math Madness Challenge concluded before Spring Break with an exciting final round of the bracket-style competition that had homeroom winners in first through fifth grades compete against each other in a one-minute math facts challenge. The assembly, which included professional-style introductions for each participating student - had all Aiken Elementary students cheering for their classmates and friends. The Math Madness Challenge started in September and had students practicing their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts daily through the XtraMath program. Students began at the 6-second level, and as they mastered each stage, they moved on to quicker levels and earned wristbands to celebrate their achievements. Thank you to 5th grade math teacher Mr. Shuck, whose time, effort, and creativity made mastering math facts fun for Aiken students! 

Golden Oaks Designs Business Meeting. In March, Keystone Oaks High School’s student-run business, Golden Oaks Designs, hosted its annual business review. This meeting gives students an opportunity to reflect on their success and areas for improvement from the various events the business participated in during the year, including Handmade Arcade and the Pittsburgh Home and Garden Show. Students were recognized for excelling in innovation, initiative, sales, production, and service. 

St. Baldrick’s Event. This year, 31 Fred L. Aiken Elementary School students, staff, and community members shaved their heads to raise awareness of the impacts of childhood cancer. In addition to shaving their heads, these participants also raised more than $20,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Since 2011, Aiken Elementary School has raised more than $205,000 for St. Baldrick’s. 

Middle School Environmental Club. In celebration of the upcoming Earth Day, members of the Middle School Environmental Club recently spent time cleaning up litter and debris around campus. Thank you for your efforts to protect the environment and to beautify our school grounds! 

The Board of School Directors will hold its April Work Session Meeting tonight, Tuesday, April 14, 2026 and its Business/Legislative Meeting on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m. in the Board Room. The agenda will be posted online 24 hours prior to the meeting. You can also listen to the Board meetings live on the District's YouTube channel.

The Keystone Oaks Board of School Directors took the following noteworthy actions at its March meeting: 

The following Board Committee meetings are scheduled in April and May: